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Friday, May 8, 2009

The RCMP are warning students to take extra precautions during end of school year celebrations.More parties means more potential for drug use, and the RCMP say what people may be buying as ecstasy could also contain methamphetamine.Sgt. MaryAnn MacNeil tells CHSJ News, drug seizures of meth in the province are on the rise, and in a number of cases what people are buying as ecstasy is in fact primarily meth.

MacNeil says both ecstasy and meth are dangerous, but meth is extremely addictive. MacNeil says they are taking a multi-prong approach to the issue by trying to raise awarness, and cracking down on people who sell the precursor ingredients to these synthetic drugs.

In an odd turn of events a car somehow managed to drive through a window at a pharmacy on the Loch Lomond Road.There were no injuries in the incident---and the 58 year old driver and two passengers were taken to the hospital as a precaution.Police information officer Sgt. Pat Bonner tells CHSJ News, the vehicle has been seized for a mechanical investigation, and does not know if charges will be laid.The car went 28 feet into the drug store just before 1 o'clock and required a tow truck to pull it out.

The province's chief medical health officer says it appears the peak of the swine flu outbreak may be over in Canada.Dr Eilish Cleary says we haven't had any new confirmed cases in the province since the original two identified last week.But Cleary says we could see the flu could continue on and off through the summer or die off and re-appear in the fall -- and -- preparations are being made to deal with a potential outbreak.There have been over 200-cases confirmed across the country since the outbreak was first diagnosed.

Work on the new wing of the Emergency Department at the Regional Hospital could be starting sooner than later.Gulf Operators are finished with all of the prep and grading work for the site.The current construction being done at the Regional is completed with the rock excavation by the oncology department wrapped up.Gulf Operators have also completed two new access roads, and a new parking lot.

The city's jobless rate is remaining pretty much stable -- the latest numbers from Stats Canada show our rate last month was 6.1-percent -- down ever so slightly from 6.3 in March.By comparison there was a spike in the provincial numbers -- the provincial unemployment rate jumped to 9.5-percent in April from 8.8 the previous month.The national jobless rate remained steady at eight percent in April.

21-year-old Andrea Blyth has been identified as the pregnant woman that died in yesterday's fire in Minto. It destroyed a four-unit apartment building and another man also perished in the flames. Six other people were also left without a place to stay, but the building's owner is letting them stay in other apartments in the community.

Minto Fire Chief Peter Miller says the fire was reported around 5 in the morning and began in a lower front unit of the two-storey structure.

The uptown continues to be their focus but they remain open to all possibilities. This as the YM-YWCA continues it's search for a new permanent home. They vacated the Hazen Avenue location a year and a half ago to make way for the new Police Headquarters and Justice Complex. Shilo Boucher is the acting CEO & CFO and tells CHSJ News, they have adapted to their new surroundings in the Prince Edward Square Mall.

Boucher says they have no time-table to find a new permanent home and are taking their time to make sure they find what best suits their needs.

RCMP have been left shaking their heads after a senseless act of vandalism along the Fundy Trail Parkway. Hampton RCMP tell us over the past ten day, signs have been pulled out of the ground or damaged and garbage cans were pushed over. Also a small hut which housed a fountain was pushed to the ground and the wood that held it in place was smashed.

Given the length of the Fundy Trail, RCMP are trying to figure out what can be done to stop these acts of vandalism.

Ronald Gaffney will become the new chair of the appeals tribunal of WorkSafeNB with his five-year appointment to take effect on Canada Day. Gaffney was born in Moncton but has been a long-time resident of Fredericton.

City Police Chief Bill Reid says research shows Peel Plaza is where the new police headquarters needs to be and that is exactly where they are going. Reid says a final decision is in the hands of city council and a steering committee he is part of deals directly with council on the issue.

Reid says the police department has been in city hall for the past 30 years and studies show they need a new facility, now it's just a matter of getting it done.

It may have been a record year last year for passenger traffic -- but -- the Saint John airport is feeling the pinch in the first quarter of this year with traffic volumes off by ten percent. Airport President Bernie LeBlanc says forecasts show the growth in passenger volumes will bounce back within two years -- and -- he tells CHSJ News that's why the airport authority has applied for infrastructure funding for some pet projects.

The airport authority wants to put a small addition on the terminal building -- reconfigure and expand the parking lots -- and -- improve runway and taxiway lighting. Total price tag is between six and seven million dollars.

One man is facing a charge of having a weapon dangerous to the public peace. This after an incident on Charlotte Street last night at eleven o'clock. City Police tell us one man was arguing with another in a vehicle when someone got out of the car with a weapon and threatened the man on the sidewalk.

When City Police arrived, they found a knife in the back seat of the vehicle. No word yet on a court date.